Tricycle Blog

Death awaits all of us. But if we learn to acknowledge and embrace impermanence, we'll be much better off when the time comes.
Traleg Kyabgon

Over the last century or so, death has been becoming increasingly institutionalized and removed from immediate experience. It is no longer a common experience in concrete terms. Where people used to die at home in the past, this is no longer the case, and the usual gathering of relatives and family no longer takes place spontaneously. It is no longer a communal affair, but on the contrary, it is hidden from public view, resulting in less actual contact with death and dying. Perversely, the literature on death and dying has been growing considerably, and people are actually talking about it more and more, while handling the practical fact less and less. The irony of this situation is described by Ray Anderson, a Christian theologian, in his book Theology, Death, and Dying:
More »

Buddhism is not a philosophy, science, psychotherapy, or culture. It is a religion.
David Brazier

It should not need saying. After all, it's obvious. Nonetheless it does need saying. It needs saying because it has been denied by so many people including many who are eminent and even some whose own roles, behavior, and faith contradict what they are saying. It needs saying clearly, that Buddhism is a religion.
More »

Although international engagement has its place, only discussion and peacebuilding among local communities can help stem the wave of anti-Muslim violence.
Iselin Frydenlund and Susan Hayward

Buddhist and Muslim leaders meet to discuss peace initiatives at the Yogyakarta meeting in Indonesia, March 2015.
Buddhist radicalism is on the rise in countries like Myanmar and Sri Lanka. Since 2012, both countries have witnessed severe violence against their Muslim minorities. Attacks take place in an atmosphere of strong anti-Muslim rhetoric put forward by certain monk-led nationalist groups, and the (largely unknown) orchestrators and perpetrators of these attacks operate with impunity.
More »

Why one of Thailand’s most controversial politicians became a Buddhist monk
Thomas Borchert

Protest leader turned monk Suthep Thaugsuban prays at Pathum Wanaram temple in Bangkok, March 2014.
Telegenic tanks rolled into Bangkok. Soldiers evacuated protest encampments. The coup, declared on May 22, 2014, put an end to the demonstrations that had embroiled Thailand for six months. During that period, Suthep Thaugsuban, the protest leader, became the country’s most visible and controversial figure. Then, suddenly and inexplicably, he disappeared.
In a ceremony devoid of pomp and circumstance, he quietly became a Buddhist monk.
More »

Buddhist leaders gather in the White House on May 14 for a meeting with government officials.
Last Thursday 125 prominent Buddhist figures from a range of traditions gathered in Washington, DC, for the first meeting between White House and State Department officials and Buddhist faith groups. Teachers from the Sinhalese, Cambodian, Burmese, Bangladeshi, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Tibetan, Vietnamese, and Thai Buddhist lineages attended, as well as scholars, activists, and leaders of convert groups who do not affiliate with any one particular Asian school.
More »

An English professor and Zen monk addresses his students at the end of the semester.
Seido Ray Ronci

I address you now not as your professor, but as Seido, Rinzai Zen monk, caretaker of Hokoku-An Zendo.
The semester has come to an end. When I look out at you I see 30 people. When you look at me you see one. But for each one of you I am a different professor. There are 30 different versions of me standing before you in this classroom. It is my job to create a relationship of sorts with each and every one of you. I do that by reading your journals and your papers, by observing how you are in class, whether or not you come prepared, whether or not you take notes, how often you text, and how often you nod off. I’m like Santa Claus. I see you when you’re sleeping and I know when you’re awake; I know when you’re taking notes and when you’re checking your Facebook page.
More »

As mindfuness has made greater inroads into public life—from hospitals, to schools, to the workplace—its growing distance from Buddhist thought and practice has become a hotly contested issue. Is mindfulness somehow deficient because it lacks Buddhist ethics, and should Buddhist ethics be replicated in mindfulness programs and workshops?
More »

If there is one skill that is not stressed very much, but is really needed, it is knowing how to fail. There is a Samuel Beckett quote that goes “Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” That quote is what will help you more than anything else in the next year, the next ten years, the next twenty years, for as long as you live, until you drop dead.
There is a lot of emphasis on succeeding. We all want to succeed, especially if we consider success to be things working out the way we want them to. Failing is what we don't usually get a lot of preparation for.
So how to fail?
More »

In the absence of language, a poet realizes the fullness of maternal love.
Shin Yu Pai

Several weeks ago, in the middle of having his diaper changed, my son peered up at me and spoke his first two-syllable word: butter. My husband Kort still asleep in bed, I wondered whether the boy had uttered the brief sound or my imagination had merely conjured it. Standard early-morning mental fuzz could not account for this self-doubt; it sprang from a deep longing, ever since the day of my son’s birth, for him to speak in familiar language.
More »

This is how it will be:we will take a walk on concrete, not blue tiles, and you will pretend to be disappointed.This will have the quality of a ritual.
In the morning, the sun will fall from the sky;we will protect ourselves against its fire.It is not so unbearable, but we have learnt to be wary of arrivals from the east.
We are unbeautiful here;our stay in the plains has rendered us so.But whispers now carry endearments,and we will not have it any other way.
More »

How do we motivate ourselves to live true to our best aspirations?
Thupten Jinpa

Framing our days between intention setting and joyful dedication, even once a week, can change how we live. It's a purposeful approach of self-awareness, conscious intention, and focused effort—three precious gifts of contemplative practice—by which we take responsibility for our thoughts and actions and take charge of our selves and our lives. As the Buddha put it, "You are your own enemy / and you are your own savior. "
More »

Thailand’s military government takes a special interest in Thai Buddhism and the moral authority its institutions command.
Hilary Cadigan

Thailand’s military government, which seized control of the country in a coup last May, has taken a special interest in Thai Buddhism and the moral authority its institutions command. After settling into power and naming itself the National Council for Peace and Order, the junta immediately set off on a paternalistic mission to rid Thailand of corruption, immorality, and anything deemed “un-Thai” (like underboobs, for example). Since Buddhism makes up such an integral part of the agreed upon definition of “Thai-ness,” junta leaders quickly set their sights on religious reform, installing a special panel to focus on the “protection of Buddhism” within their National Reform Council (NRC).
More »

Bernie Flynn, a longtime student of Chögyam Trungpa, recently told me about the time he and the Rinpoche tried to quit smoking cigarettes. A few days in, he was driving the Rinpoche to a meeting. Antsy and in withdrawal, Bernie couldn’t help but notice his teacher sitting calmly in the passenger seat. Finally, his nerves on edge, Bernie turned to Trungpa and asked how the whole quitting thing was going. “It’s easy,” said Trungpa. “Either you smoke, or you don’t smoke.”
Ah, so simple.
Later that evening, Bernie entered a room to find the Rinpoche gleefully chain smoking.
Oh, not so simple.
More »

Want to donate to the rescue effort in Nepal? Here is a list of qualified aid organizations.
The Editors

Saturday’s 7.9 magnitude earthquake in Nepal has caused widespread death and damage in the country that houses some of the world’s most precious Buddhist sites. News sites are reporting that the death toll has now risen above 3,000 and is expected to continue rising sharply.
Tricycle has heard directly from people living in Kathmandu that they are spending a third night outdoors in makeshift tents while powerful aftershocks continue to roil the country. There are reports of shortages of tents, food, water, and medical supplies.
More »

Roshi Pat Enkyo O’Hara is founder and abbot of the Village Zendo in New York City, and the author of Most Intimate: A Zen Approach to Life’s Challenges. We talked in her office on April 13, 2010.
—Richard P. Boyle
More »

Myokyo Dream
"Stop fidgeting" she saysI'm picking candle wax off my robesWe're all sitting in the ZendoPeople of all ages introducing themselves.
"I'm here because I read too much" I say.
August 4, 2007
There Are Those Buddhists
like myselfwho do not scorn the ideaof mere “things” possessinga sanctityof their own
More »

The wrapper-crinkler, the squirmer, the know-it-all—they all show up in Small Mouth Sounds, a new play that brings the ins and outs of retreat to the stage.
Joan Duncan Oliver

There’s one on every meditation retreat: the roommate who crinkles potato chip wrappers all night, keeping you awake; the meditator on the next cushion who squirms nonstop; the know-it-all who flaunts his “enlightenment.” If this sounds familiar, be prepared to laugh uproariously in recognition. If it doesn’t—well, watch and learn.
More »

Planetary is a cross-continental cinematic journey that explores our future as a species with interviews from astronauts, environmentalists, anthropologists, and leading Buddhist thinkers.
Get the full film (10% discount for Tricycle subscribers with promo code TRICYCLE10) here.
More »